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Girls Encounter More Stressors and Respond More Strongly to Them, Becoming More Depressed
From the WebMD Archives

Feb. 7, 2007 -- Ever wonder why teenage girls can seem more stressed out and depressed than teenage boys? A new study sheds some light.

Teenage girls encounter more "stressors" in life, especially in their interpersonal relationships, than boys -- and they react more strongly to those pressures, accounting in part for their higher levels of depression, the study suggests.

"Girls are getting a double hit," says Benjamin L. Hankin, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, one of the study's researchers.

"They are experiencing more interpersonal stress, and when they experience more of the stress, they exhibit more depressive symptoms than boys do," he says.

For years, Hankin says, experts have known that by midpuberty -- age 13, or so -- more girls than boys experience depression.

But they have not been able to pinpoint why.

Other research has found that teenage girls report more stressors in life than do teenage boys, but researchers have disagreed on whether the girls react more strongly to stressors and become more depressed, Hankin says.

The Study

Hankins' study looked at 538 eighth and 10th-grade students, aged 13 to 18 (average age: 14.9), from 18 Chicago-area schools.

The students were asked to record their "worst event" of the day in their diaries every day for a week, at three different time points -- the study launch, and six and 12 months later.

The diary method is considered superior to research that asks students to recall stressors from the past, Hankin says; it tends to be more accurate.

Besides describing this "worst event," students said what made it so bad, and what they did in response.

"Worst events" included getting kicked out of school, failing a quiz, arguing with a parent, getting mad at a girlfriend or boyfriend, and other problems.

The researchers later evaluated how stressful the events were and classified them as interpersonal (involving interaction between the teen and another person -- such as family, peer, or romantic partner) or achievement (involving academics or athletic performance).

Hankin's team also looked at the boys' and girls' depressive symptoms and their self-reported use of alcohol.

Continued

Interpersonal Stressors vs. Achievement Stressors

The girls reported more interpersonal stressors, while the boys had more achievement stressors.

"In an average week, the girls experienced twice as many interpersonal stressors as the boys did," Hankin says.

While the boys averaged 0.50 interpersonal stressors a week, the girls averaged one -- about twice as many.

However, the boys experienced 0.24 achievement stressors each week, while the girls reported just 0.16.

The girls were more adversely affected, too, Hankin found. For the same stressor, the girls reacted with more depression than the boys, Hankin says.

Looking at interpersonal stressors alone and the teens' reactions to them "explains 30% of why the girls are more depressed than the boys," Hankin says.

Genders respond in different ways to stress, the study also found.

"If there is a romantic fight between a boy and a girl, on average, a girl will respond with more depression," Hankin says. "A boy will go distract himself," Hankin says, perhaps playing basketball or doing some other activity.

No gender differences were found in the use of alcohol in response to stress.

Another Expert Weighs In

The study sheds light on some of the pathways that lead girls to become more depressed, says Karen D. Rudolph, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who has researched the same topic.

It shows that "girls are experiencing more stress in their lives and react more strongly," she says.

Take-Home Messages

For parents of girls and boys entering puberty, Hankin has this advice: "Pay attention to what your child is experiencing at home and with relationships. Be available and supportive emotionally for your child."

Be aware, Rudolph adds, that "when things go wrong, girls may be interpreting it in a catastrophic way."

For example, an argument with a friend may be viewed as the end of a friendship. But parents can step in and suggest how to heal the relationship, she says.

Hankin's study is published in the January-February issue of Child Development.

He did the work while at the University of Illinois at Chicago with his University of Illinois co-researchers, Robin Mermelstein, PhD, and Linda Roesch, MA.

Sources

SOURCES: Benjamin L. Hankin, PhD, assistant professor of psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia. Hankin, B. Child Development, January-February 2007, vol. 78, pp 279-295. Karen D. Rudolph, PhD, associate professor of psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Girls Encounter More Stressors and Respond More Strongly to Them, Becoming More Depressed From the WebMD Archives Feb. 7, 2007 -- Ever wonder why teenage girls can seem more stressed out and depressed than teenage boys? A new study sheds some light.

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When it comes to gender, double standards are alive and well. Let's face it: despite all of the advances toward gender equality, many people still expect different things from men and women.

This is why studies about female breadwinners or advertisements featuring stay-at-home dads are newsworthy, why "boys will be boys" is actually still a phrase humans use, and why it's standard for men to catcall women on the street and not vice-versa. These inequalities arguably exist because it's common for people to judge mens' and women's behavior by different standards.

Redditor blackbirdholiday asked other Reddit users to identify some of the things women are generally judged more harshly for than men.The results made us realize just how much has to change.

Here are five things Reddit users believe society looks down on women for:

1. Having "too many" sexual partners. While no-one's "number" should matter, the sexual double standard is alive and well. Men who sleep around are "studs," but women who do the same are "sluts." What's more, a disturbing study found that women labelled "promiscuous" were rejected by their male and female peers, which is all kinds of messed up.

2. Having a messy home. Though an estimated 81 percent of men and 87 percent of women report feeling anxious about home upkeep, women still do the majority of the housework. Why? Because women are judged much more harshly than men for having a messy home. We like the attitude HuffPost blogger Claire McCarthy shared in her Feb. 25 post: " We have more important things to do. If there is some time left over after we talk, eat together, play together and finish this really great book, we'll clean. If not, well, it can wait."

3. Being overweight. Though both men and women experience fat prejudice, studies have found that overweight women feel more societal pressure to lose weight than overweight men.

4. Being blunt or assertive. A woman who speaks her mind too much is deemed bossy, aggressive or arrogant -- whereas a mouthy dude is simply showcasing his executive leadership skills.

5. Not having children. Childfree women are often referred to as "selfish" and told they will regret their decision not to have kids. Because what kind of unnatural woman would never want to be a mother? Men get no such flak -- being a dad isn't considered to be an essential part of manhood. Plus, men have way more time to decide if they want kids! ( But they still have biological clocks, too.)

What else do you think women are judged more harshly for? Leave a comment below, or Tweet @HuffPostWomen!

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5 Things Women Are Judged More Harshly For Than Men

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When it comes to gender, double standards are alive and well. Let's face it: despite all of the advances toward gender equality, many people still expect different things from men and women.

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